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American attorneys famous for claims in construction disasters have launched a landmark wrongful death lawsuit in Philadelphia against three US companies on behalf of 69 of the 72 people killed in the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London, and 177 who were injured in the tragedy. — Global Construction Review
"They are targeting Arconic, Inc., which they claim supplied the Reynobond Polyethylene Cladding (PE) panels on Grenfell; Celotex Corporation, which they claim supplied the insulation used in the cladding system; and Whirlpool Corporation, which manufactured the fridge-freezer thought to be linked... View full entry
The mammoth, unfinished mansion on Strada Vecchia Road in Bel-Air has long been at the center of controversy, investigations and legal battles.
Its developer, Mohamed Hadid, pleaded no contest to criminal charges after prosecutors accused him of building a house far bigger than allowed. [...]
And investigators have looked into possible wrongdoing by a city building inspector scrutinizing the house.
— Los Angeles Times
Looks like the legal drama over the gargantuan on-again/off-again under-construction Bel Air megamansion by celebrity developer Mohamed Hadid is entering a new act: Russell Linch, the contested project's former construction manager, has come forward this week and accused a Los Angeles Department... View full entry
In a surprising move, a federal judge ruled Tuesday that the city of Chicago was within its authority when it approved the Obama Foundation’s plan to build the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park.
After listening to nearly an hour of arguments on both sides, U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey said construction of the sprawling Obama center campus can begin and dismissed the lawsuit filed by environmentalists that aimed to halt it.
— Chicago Tribune
Designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, the planned Obama Presidential Center in Chicago's Jackson Park has faced strong opposition from the start and was barred from commencing construction due to the pending lawsuit brought forward by the group, Protect Our Parks. "Even though this... View full entry
Genesis, this is not. This is the fate of the multimillion-dollar Noah’s Ark replica and theme park in Northern Kentucky, Ark Encounter, which is suing insurance carriers over coverage for rain-related damages to the property. The company is seeking to recoup what it says were $1 million worth of repairs, as well as attorneys’ fees and costs, and an unspecified amount of punitive damages. — The Washington Post
Lawyers of the Ark Encounter — the buzzy Noah's Ark theme park in Williamstown, Kentucky that opened in 2016 — filed a lawsuit last Wednesday against the park's insurance company for breaching their coverage policy obligations, after heavy rains in 2017 and 2018 caused a landslide on the... View full entry
In China, a media company has been ordered by the court to cough up $30,000 to a real estate developer for accusing one of their buildings of having bad feng shui, CNN reports. In the post published by Zhuhai Shengun Internet Technology, a Chinese blogger warned of the building's inauspicious... View full entry
The non-profit organization responsible for developing building codes has sued the startup UpCodes, alleging the company of copyright infringement for republishing the many laws and regulations around buildings. UpCodes is a searchable platform for building codes intended to make the... View full entry
The “Flintstones” home in northern California appears to take its architectural cues from the town of Bedrock. The experimental house was built in the 1970s using a technique that involved spraying concrete to create curved walls. The result is a building where Fred and Wilma would feel at home, and it has become a landmark for drivers passing on I-280. — The Guardian
Neighbors of the quirky home in the affluent town of Hillsborough in Northern California aren't exactly fans of the prehistoric-looking architecture, nor the collection of large metal dinosaur and woolly mammoth sculptures on the property, and have sued the current owner, businesswoman Florence... View full entry
Residents of flats overlooked by the Tate Modern have lost their high court bid to stop “hundreds of thousands of visitors” looking into their homes from the art gallery’s viewing platform.
[...] the board of trustees of the Tate Gallery said the platform provided “a unique, free, 360-degree view of London” and argue that the claimants could simply “draw the blinds”.
— The Guardian
The judge presiding over the highly publicized case dismissed the residents' demands that parts of the 10th-floor public viewing terrace in the Tate Modern's Herzog & de Meuron-designed extension be closed off to prevent visitors from peeking through the floor-to-ceiling windows into the ritzy Neo... View full entry
Wynn Resorts in Las Vegas is suing its neighbor Resorts World, which is currently under construction, for copying its design. The 17-page lawsuit includes a trademark infringement and unfair competition lawsuit against the soon-to-be casino and resort. According to Wynn, the similarity in designs... View full entry
Patrik Schumacher has sued to become the sole executor of Zaha Hadid's $85 million estate, applying to remove developer Peter Palumbo, Hadid's niece Rana, and artist Brian Clarke from the late Dame's will. Upon Hadid's death, Schumacher and five of the architect's relatives were each left a... View full entry
Hawaii's Supreme Court has sided with scientists in a battle to build one of the world's largest telescopes, rejecting efforts by native Hawaiians to block its construction atop what some consider a sacred volcano.
In 2015, a construction permit for the Thirty Meter Telescope, or TMT, to be built on Mauna Kea, was invalidated amid protests and court appeals, claiming the dormant volcano is sacred land that would be violated in the building process.
— NPR
The embattled TMT astronomical observatory project on Mauna Kea previously in the Archinect news: Hawaii's Thirty Meter Telescope could be moved to the Canary IslandsHawaii protesters block construction of giant telescope on sacred mountain Mauna KeaThe $1.5B 30m telescope (TMT) will be the... View full entry
The contractors who designed and built the disastrous Florida International University bridge have been cited by federal authorities for several “serious” worker-safety violations and face tens of thousands of dollars in fines. [...]
The FIU pedestrian bridge collapsed March 15 while it was still under construction over Southwest Eighth Street, killing five motorists below and a worker, Navaro Brown, who had been standing atop the span.
— Miami Herald
This round of OSHA citations is likely only the beginning of legal actions resulting from the deadly collapse of the new Florida International University pedestrian bridge in March 2018. Investigations of the National Transportation Safety Board are ongoing and, depending on its findings, could... View full entry
Actor Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation has sued the architect of scores of homes the nonprofit sold to Lower 9th Ward residents who lost everything to Hurricane Katrina.
Make it Right itself was recently sued over the homes’ shoddy construction.
The new lawsuit against local architect John C. Williams was filed Tuesday in Orleans Parish Civil District Court.
— theadvocate.com
Brad Pitt's Make It Right Foundation, recently facing a lawsuit of their own on delivering poorly constructed homes, is now suing John C. Williams, the architect responsible for many of the homes sold to New Orleans residents. Repairs to the water damaged homes caused by flawed... View full entry
Sutton Place residents filed a lawsuit Sunday in a last-ditch attempt to stop a luxury condo tower from rising on East 58th Street.
The plaintiffs, a group called the East River Fifties Alliance, are residents from the surrounding neighborhood, including condo owners whose views would be blocked by a roughly 800-foot tower under construction at 430 E. 58th St.
— crainsnewyork.com
Construction on NYC's Sutton 58 condo project was previously halted after Sutton Place residents secured a rezoning proposal. The rezoning mandated squatter buildings making Sutton 58 noncompliant. Since then a city zoning board granted the project a reprieve, resulting in the resident's lawsuit... View full entry
Environmentalists are celebrating a precedent-setting vote Thursday by the California Coastal Commission to tear down a seawall protecting an oceanfront home in Laguna Beach.
After the previous owner received retroactive approval for the previously unpermitted seawall, Jeffrey and Tracy Katz bought the home on Victoria Beach. They performed an extensive remodel, which was completed in January and increased the value of the home from $14 million to $25 million.
— The Orange County Register
Under the 1977 Coastal Act, beachfront properties are required to have substantial setbacks in order not to interfere with the natural flow of sand along the coast. Built in 1951, prior to the Act, the property in question was allowed to put up a seawall in 2005 under the condition it be removed... View full entry